Sheffield Hopcast

Yep this coming Friday *should* be the start of Peakender 2020, the three-day beer and music festival at Bakewell Showground organised by Thornbridge Brewery. Of course, it isn't happening, so instead we have our own petit Peakender art home. Indoors of course (it was raining heavily!) We're joined by Alice Batham from the Thornbridge brewing team as we reminisce about previous years and find out...

We celebrate Yorkshire Day in the only way we know how - with beers from Yorkshire breweries of course. And eeeh bah gum there's some reyt crackers. And we add a Yorkshire BREWER into the mix too as Josh from Blue Bee joins us. There's plenty of chat about his other venture too, at Kelham Island Tavern.

Yup we're all going vegan. It's a bit of a reduced team with just James, Adam and Sean on hand to compare notes on their vegan beer choices. Plus a good natter about what's happening with pubs now and plenty more.

We've been talking about it for ages - now we have finally gotten round to a gluten-free episode of the Hopcast. We're joined by Matt, who runs Gluten Free Pint, to talk about the range of choice available nowadays - and of course we all crack open a GF beer. Plus there's plenty to talk about it, with pubs now open again - and one of the Hopcasters actually made their way to one on the day they re...

Relive the first session from this year’s Sheffield Hopfest - our first virtual beer festival. James was the host with a theme of Loud & Proud beers. This is the full raw session, which you can also watch back on YouTube channel. Thanks to everyone who took part in the first Hopfest, we had a fantastic weekend!

Relive the second session from this year’s Sheffield Hopfest - our first virtual beer festival. Laura was the host with a theme of Sours and Mixed Fermentation beers. This is the full raw session, which you can also watch back on YouTube channel. Thanks to everyone who took part in the first Hopfest, we had a fantastic weekend!

Relive the third session from this year’s Sheffield Hopfest - our first virtual beer festival. Adam was the host with a theme of 6% and up beers. This is the full raw session, which you can also watch back on YouTube channel. Thanks to everyone who took part in the first Hopfest, we had a fantastic weekend!

Relive the fourth and final session from this year’s Sheffield Hopfest - our first virtual beer festival. Sean was the host with a theme of Stout Sunday. This is the full raw session, which you can also watch back on YouTube channel. Thanks to everyone who took part in the first Hopfest, we had a fantastic weekend!

No guest this week - the four of us take the chance to catch up and share a beer ahead of next weekend's bumper Hopfest. With shops reopening we reflect on our lockdown experiences so far. Our key point of conversation is the Black Lives Matter movement, and particularly the representation of black and ethnic minority people in the beer world. We've looked at a few different ways of tackling this...

Luci from Shakespeares in Kelham Island is our guest, so we take the opportunity to celebrate women in beer on this week's episode. Sean tells the longest story ever to introduce his beer selection, but it's worth it. PLUS - we have details of the Sheffield Hopfest coming up in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! We've got the dates, the details of the sessions and most importantly the info on how you can get in...

It's finally here - our special Moonshine episode of the Hopcast. We all crack open a can of the classic with Abbeydale Brewery's Sales Director Dan Baxter. We chat about Moonshine's move into can format since lockdown and share our memories of a real staple beer in the Sheffield pub scene. Plus Beer of the Month makes a return and Sean has big news about Beer Cental. Aaaaand.. we reveal details o...

It's another bank holiday weekend and we're delighted to welcome Heather and Michael from Out and About to join us for this week's show. The four of us pick out a beer inspired by our guests, with a few fruity numbers making an appearance. Out and About is a none-profit group in Sheffield helping to find and create safe spaces for queer people and their allies. Find out more on their social media...

Yeah it should be Eurovision this weekend, but of course it isn't happening - but never mind, we'll create our own. Sort of. The gang all pick beers with a connection to Eurovision - some a little looser than others. We also discuss all things beer including another couple of big local events which have just been cancelled this year. And our special guest is the extremely lovely Darren Hebden. Sta...

Bank Holiday Beers in our theme this week - and boy do we have a variation in style: five very different beers. We're joined by Mark Gannon and his bulging fridge to talk all things hoppy. And it's the return of Sean's ridiculous bottle opener which seems to do many things - apart from actually open bottles. Want it? Listen in for your chance to win! A huge thanks this week to Heist and Thornbridg...

Yep, we are still here with our 6th episode from behind closed doors, but all is fine, we've got the pleasure of the company of Dann Paquette from St Mars of the Desert... or is it Dessert? We hear about what they SMOD has been up to and how they've found these more challenging times and also look ahead to what they have coming up in the coming weeks and months. Dann also relives a few storie...

A week of Hopcast records and firsts... Sean sets a record for the most expensive beer we've featured. Well, we think it's Sean, it might be his clean-shaven and fresh-faced nephew. Adam and James manage to bring the exact same beer, but thankfully James has a more than adequate replacement. Laura's got a hoppy beer. Or is it a sour? And our special guest this week is the lovely Rob from HopZine....

They all seem to be merging into one, but we're pretty sure this is our fourth lockdown episode. And this week we all crack open the same beer despite the miles between us - a real classic too: Timothy Taylor's Landlord. Sean possibly enjoyed it in 1952 when it was first brewed while James is drinking it for the first time (which is a bit criminal, really). We're joined by fellow podcaster Nick La...

We reach the end of the third week of lockdown, and indeed the end of the Easter weekend. So there's only possible theme for this week's beers: Easter, of course! Unless you're Sean, that is... We're also joined by the super lovely James Buxton of Thornbridge Brewery fame to see how he's coping with lockdown (and to sink a cool 12.5% imperial stout too, obvs). We hope you're doing alright in these...

We're back with our second weekly 'lockdown' episode of the Hopcast. The team get together remotely to share a beer of their choosing and a chat about things - and this week are joined by a friend from a fellow beery podcast.

Well, what a few weeks it has been! Laura, Sean, Adam and James get together (virtually) to enjoy a beer and reflect on what's going on in the world - and particularly in our local beer scene. It's a hard time for just about everyone in the beer industry, but we try to find a few more positive notes as well. Plus four very good beers (hint: three of us go hard for a Sunday afternoon tipple!) There...

This month to celebrate International Women's Day and all the great women in the beer industry, Laura has taken the reins and invited the Seven Hills Women's Institute for a bit of a chat over beers from Bath Ales, Ashover Brewery, Wiper and True Brewery and Wild Card Brewery.

This month's episode is brought to you from Hop Hideout in Kommune. Our guest is Jules Gray, owner of Hop Hideout and 'Chief Instigator' of Sheffield Beer Week and founder/organiser of Indie Beer Feast. We chat about this year's Indie Beer Feast and Sheffield Beer Week over beers from Donzoko, Torrside, Turning Point and Kees.

On our 2 year anniversary episode we are back at Bar Stewards with Charlie and Al. As money can be tight in January, we were each tasked with finding a great beer for under £3.50. We also hear from some of our social media followers about what beer they would choose on a budget and finally have a chat about our favourite breweries from the past year.

Following last year's fun on our Christmas 'pod crawl' we are out and about again this year with visits to Shakespeares for their beer festival, The Wellington (Neepsend Brewery Tap) and finally the newly opened Millowners Arms over at Kelham Island Museum.

This month’s episode is brought to you from Sheffield’s newest bar (at the time!) Industry Tap. As the colder, darker nights draw in we opt for some winter warmers from Titanic Brewery, Peak Ales, North Riding Brewery and Brouwerij De Halve Maan.